A recent story in the Boston Globe by journalist Kara Baskin featured an interview with YCDC Co-Director Dr. Sally Shaywitz.

From the Boston Globe
“How to Support your Dyslexic Child”
By Kara Baskin
March 5, 2021

“‘This is an unexpected difficulty in reading in a person who has the intelligence to be a much better reader,’ said Sally Shaywitz, M.D., co-director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity and author of the newly updated “Overcoming Dyslexia,” a landmark text in the field. It affects a person’s ability to speak, read, and spell — leading to the misguided belief that dyslexics aren’t smart …

“Disentangle dyslexia from intelligence. Shaywitz has found that IQ and reading diverge over time for dyslexics. A dyslexic child can be exceptionally bright and also struggle to read. For those kids, it isn’t automatic — it’s hard work. But while dyslexic kids might be slow readers, they can also be speedy thinkers …

“Shaywitz originated the “Sea of Strengths” model for dyslexia, wherein weaker skills like decoding, and spelling are cocooned by a sea of positives, ranging from creativity to vocabulary to intuition and critical thinking …

“‘At the center is a weakness in getting to the sounds of spoken language, and that interferes with decoding, reading fluently, et cetera. But that weakness is surrounded by a sea of strengths in higher-level conceptual thinking, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving,’ she said …

“This might sound like placating, but if you’re worried about your dyslexic child’s future, take heart: Shaywitz’s 2020 Yale Outcome Study analyzed outcomes for dyslexic and non-dyslexic Yale (Yale!) alums, concluding that “when intellectually able and motivated students with dyslexia are given academic opportunity at a rigorous institution, they can succeed academically, professionally, and personally …”

“It’s a finding she called ‘unexpected yet reassuring,’ with dyslexic respondents highlighting how their experiences made them more hard-working, determined, and creative …

“‘Dyslexic college graduates did not differ from typical graduates in college and the workplace. Parents of dyslexic children often ask about their child’s future. These findings should reassure those professionals (including pediatric neuropsychologists, school psychologists and pediatricians) that dyslexic students can be successful in school and go on to succeed and thrive at selective colleges,’ she concluded in the study …

“School is temporary; intelligence is forever. If you’re mired in stress right now, keep in mind these words from Shaywitz, who has studied and tracked dyslexics for generations: ‘When dyslexic children are in school, it is the weakness that is noticed,’ she said. ‘It’s important to know that as children mature, it is the strengths in thinking that become more prominent and define a person.’”